


endex

by bearonthecouch



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Coffee Break, F/M, Gen, Miles is Observant, North vs. East Training Exercises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 10:29:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15579969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearonthecouch/pseuds/bearonthecouch
Summary: “Well, you know what they say, the best defense is a good offense.”During a North vs. East Training Exercise, Colonel Mustang's adjutant shares a coffee break with Major General Olivier Armstrong's adjutant. Miles is bad at minding his own business.





	endex

“This is amazing!” 

“It’s just coffee, Major.”    
  
“Obviously, you have never had the pleasure of drinking Briggs coffee.”

A smile dances on Riza’s lips. She sits down across from Major Miles and sips at her own coffee, carefully watching the man. He outranks her, and he’s from Briggs, which is notoriously well-disciplined compared to… well, compared to everywhere, but especially East, where her grandfather is shrewd and competent but slacks off on paperwork to play chess with subordinate officers while not-subtly trying to set them up on dates. 

“Colonel Mustang is quite impressive out in the field,” Miles comments. 

“Have you ever seen an alchemist in combat?” 

Miles shakes his head. “No. When they were all sent to Ishval… well, Briggs is a long way from Ishval. And Major General Armstrong tends to hand-pick her people. I’m not sure she entirely trusts alchemists. She thinks they screw with the chain of command. Part of the military, but outside of it at the same time, you know?”

Riza nods. “They’re special cases.”

“And that doesn’t sit wrong with you?”

She sighs, thinking about it. “I suppose… I understand what they were asked to do. It’s not like with us, we chose this. But the Alchemists… they’re scientists. They’re supposed to be sitting in libraries doing research, not…”  
  
“Not lighting whole towns on fire.” His voice is surprisingly harsh, at that. Riza raises an eyebrow. Miles shakes his head, takes a slow sip of his coffee. “I’m sorry. That was probably uncalled for.”

Riza shrugs. “You weren’t there,” she points out. “In Ishval.”

“No, I wasn’t.” 

“So, you don’t… it was  _ hell _ , Major. And you don’t get to judge any of us who were there.”

Miles stares at her from behind his goggles (which he wears even inside, and if Hawkeye’s looked at him curiously, she hasn’t asked him why). He notices the tension in her muscles, the way she holds herself, ready to fight. 

“At ease, Lieutenant,” Miles says, the words slipping out naturally. But Riza Hawkeye just shakes her head. Smiling, as if something has amused her. “ _ What _ ?” Miles asks.

“You think I’m going to calm down just because you  _ order  _ me to, Major?”

“That isn’t what I meant. I just… maybe we should just start over. I’ll drink my coffee and forget I ever mentioned Ishval, and you can… I don’t know, rub it in my face how much you embarrassed me in maneuvers today. I used to think I was a decent sniper.”

“You’re not bad,” Hawkeye admits. 

“Guess we’ll see tomorrow. I’m a little terrified of what the consequences will be if we go home having lost this exercise to you lot.”

“Major General Armstrong won’t take it well?”

“She’s a bit of a sore loser, yeah.” 

“Well, you know what they say, the best defense is a good offense.”

“That’s not a good defense. Offense is not the same as defense. Did you learn nothing at the academy?” But Riza Hawkeye is grinning. She covers it by putting her coffee mug up to her lips, but there’s no hiding it. Miles thinks she looks pretty when she smiles. And then he thinks ‘where did that come from?’ He has a girlfriend. “You did that on purpose!”

“Did  _ what  _ on purpose?”

“You’re trying to rile me up.”

“It’s working, isn’t it?”

Miles gives a little snort of laughter. “I can see why Mustang likes you.”

There it is again, that tension.  _ That’s  _ interesting. Wait, did she think he meant…? His jaw drops a little. 

“ _ Mustang _ ?” he asks, as he swallows another gulp of still-hot coffee. “Really?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“He’s your direct superior. I know this is East, but that’s still gotta be against regs, right?”

“Nothing is happening between me and Colonel Mustang.” Her voice is strained, and Miles struggles to catch all the nuances in it. Guilt, obviously. Anger, also obvious. Dangerous, too, he knows he’s crossing lines, but he pushes ahead anyway. Let no one call the second-in-command of Briggs a coward. There’s something else. Regret? Desire? 

He shakes his head slightly, trying to clear it, takes another slow sip of his coffee. Watches Riza Hawkeye as she glares at him, daring him to make something of this. 

“Nothing’s happening,” he repeats steadily. She nods. “But… it was?”

Her eyes widen. Bingo. Something  _ was  _ happening. Before she was under his command. Were they at the academy together? No, the age difference is too much. So… Ishval? Yeah, that reads right. 

“This isn’t any of your business, Major.”

“I know it isn’t. I’ll just leave you with this: at Briggs, we know that there are people worth protecting, even at great personal risk. And I think… you might fit in better than you realize, up North.” He drains the rest of his mug in one go and sets it down on the table. “Thanks for the coffee, Lieutenant.”

Riza watches him go. She cannot fucking wait for endex. 


End file.
